✓ Back to school: what do children imagine?

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Summer and holidays are the moments of relaxation and fun par excellence and, when they end, a little nostalgia is inevitable for children. But at the same time, the beginning of a new school year is always an exciting adventure, because it means an extra step on the ladder of their growth, an official stage in their path to become older. Not only that: the return to school also represents the return to normality, which is so loved by children, perhaps even more than by us adults. Beyond our feelings, how do our children experience the return to school? And how do they imagine it? Here is what the children we interviewed told us.

W the new 'things'!

"I like the holidays, of course, but when we put the summer 'things' in place, I can't wait to get the school 'things': my backpack, apron, notebooks ... but above all I like to buy new school supplies, go with mum or dad to choose the diary, the pencil case, the pens and put them all in order on my desk. My parents congratulate me on the order they see in my room and I like it too a lot, even though I already know it won't last long! " (Fabio, 8 years old).

The pleasure of normality

Children by their nature are habitual and even pediatricians and psychologists point out that regularity is good for their brain, because it instills calm and confidence. As Lucia, 10 years old, tells us: "On vacation there are no timetables, you don't know what time you go to sleep, what time you get up, what time you have breakfast (if you do), there are no pre-established programs. it's the beauty of the holidays, of course, but, if I have to say it all, after a while I get tired, because I like to have my own rhythms and my things to do every day. The first days of school I already know that I will struggle to get up early and stick to the strictest hours, but after a while I'm sure I'll get used to normality ". To help them get used to the usual rhythms, however, it is better to calculate their times, which do not always coincide with those of us adults, who do everything at the last minute. In fact, Alessandro, 7 years old, comments: "I would like us not to do everything in a hurry in the morning, with mum or dad constantly telling me that I have to hurry. Instead of telling me to hurry up, don't they give me a help first?"

The importance of sharing ...

What kids like best about holidays is not going to special places to do amazing things, but being able to spend more time with mum and dad. And when they go back to school, they hope the magic won't end. Because children like to share their experiences but above all their emotions with their parents, to feel them close not only physically but above all emotionally. This is what, for example, Cristina, 5 years old, hopes, who says: "This summer we went to the sea and I had so much fun playing with sand and water with mum and dad: it was wonderful to see them playing with me. . Now that school starts again, I already know that we won't have the whole day available, but I hope they will always find some time to be together, at least in the evening, to tell us about our day, hug each other and fill up on pampering. Like when we were on vacation ".

… And empathy

It is also essential for the little ones to perceive that parents understand their emotions and show confidence in their abilities: "This year I will go to fifth grade and I imagine that school will be more demanding, that I will have to study more, but mom and Dad reassured me that I will do it very well I like when they encourage me: I feel more capable too! (Francesca, 10 years old).

Similarly, children feel encouraged when they feel that certain emotions also felt by the 'adults' when they were their age: "I am a little sad that, when I go back to school, I will have to get up early and not. I'll be able to play as much as I like, then dad told me about when he too was my age and the first few days he had a hard time getting back to school, but after a while he got used to it and discovered all the good opportunities that the return to school meant. I liked what he said to me, because I felt understood and I understood that it is a feeling that we all feel a bit. " (Claudio, 8 years old).

The attitude of adults

Much of the attitude of children towards school also depends on how we adults, especially parents and teachers, live it. "This year I will go to the third grade and Mom and Dad are making me many recommendations, because, they told me, in the third one begins to study like the grown-ups, there are more books, the teachers will give more homework. And that's okay, but not. is that if they repeat it to me over and over I understand it better and study more, indeed, they only make me anxious! (Pietro, 8 years old). As for the teachers, however, 7-year-old Laura notes: "I like going back to school , the teachers are nice, especially the first few days, because they don't question us, they ask us how the holidays went, they give us many nice speeches with a smile. Here, I would like this smile to be maintained throughout the year, when they have to explain more complicated things to us and assign us homework ".

One more step towards autonomy

Speaking of homework: there are those who sincerely hope that mum and dad are not on him to make him do his homework: "One thing I would not like this year is for my parents to interrogate me every night, asking me: ' Have you done your homework? Will you let me check the notebooks? Shall we go over the times tables together? " They don't realize that the more they pester me, the less I do. I'm 10, I want to do it alone! (Silvia)

Together again

One of the aspects that makes the children the most happy is to find themselves all together again: "I'm thrilled to see my classmates every day," says 9-year-old Daniele. "I miss the jokes, the jostling that we children give each other as a game, the snacks in the courtyard. And then I like those nice group talks in which everyone tells his or her things, the times when we console ourselves if any of us are down or we let off steam if a question goes wrong. Sometimes we fight, but after a while we find a way to make up. "

As always, children show that they have grasped the meaning of things even better than adults, because they have discovered, behind the duty of school, the pleasure and privilege of meeting, to learn grammar, times tables, but above all to learn life!

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